Card benefits change often, and this page may be out of date by the time you read it. Always check the bank’s page and your card’s guide to benefits for the current terms before you rely on a benefit.
The United Explorer is Chase’s mid-tier United card: $0 the first year and then $150, a free first checked bag for you and a companion, two United Club passes a year, Group 2 boarding, cheaper award prices on United, and a set of partner credits Chase adds up to more than $500 a year.
Most of that $500 comes from small credits that need specific bookings or monthly orders, so the card really lives or dies on the bag benefit. Below is how it earns, what each credit takes, the United perks with their catches, the protections in Chase’s own numbers, and my verdict on who should keep it.
United Explorer at a glance
- Annual fee: $150 (waived the first year); authorized users are free
- Current public offer: 70,000 miles after $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months, plus 10,000 miles for adding an authorized user in the first 3 months (as of October 14, 2026, per Frequent Miler)
- Is it the best ever?: Not quite. The best public offer was 80,000 miles after $3,000 (until May 2025), and Doctor of Credit currently lists 75,000 to 90,000 miles through in-flight and flight-attendant offers, which need an authorized user to reach the top number.
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Best for: People who fly United a few times a year and check a bag, especially with a companion on the same reservation.
- Skip it if: You fly carry-on only or rarely fly United. The coupon-style credits alone won’t cover $150.
- Bank’s page: United Explorer Card on chase.com
Jump to: Highlights · Earning · Credits · United perks · Insurance · Application rules · My take · The catch · Keep it? · Offer history · Quick Answers
The highlights
- 3x on United purchases (9x total on United flights with the miles you earn as a MileagePlus member), 2x dining and hotels booked direct, 1x elsewhere
- Free first checked bag for you and one companion on the same reservation, when you buy the ticket with the card and add your MileagePlus number
- Two United Club one-time passes each year, plus Group 2 priority boarding
- At least 10% off United award prices (15% for Premier members), on United-operated flights only
- $120 Instacart credit: $10 per month through 12/31/2027, needs an active Instacart+ membership (free for 3 months, then 25% off)
- $100 United Hotels credit ($50 on each of the first two prepaid stays), $50 Avis or Budget credit and $100 JSX credit, per anniversary year
- $60 rideshare credit: $5 per month, enrollment required every year
- $100 United TravelBank cash after $10,000 in spend in a calendar year; a 10,000-mile award discount after $20,000
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS credit up to $120 every 4 years; 25% back on United inflight purchases
- Primary rental car coverage up to $60,000, trip delay at 12 hours, trip cancellation, baggage delay, lost luggage and purchase protection; no foreign transaction fees
How it earns
| Category | Rate | Caps and fine print |
|---|---|---|
| United flights | 3x from the card (9x total) | The other 6x is what any MileagePlus member earns on the fare; Basic Economy earns less, Premier members earn more. |
| Other United purchases | 3x | Seat upgrades, Economy Plus, inflight food and Wi-Fi, bag fees and other United fees. United Cruises, MileagePlus X and merchandise awards excluded. |
| Dining | 2x | Includes takeout and eligible delivery. |
| Hotels booked direct with the hotel | 2x | Direct bookings only. |
| Everything else | 1x | Other airlines, rental cars and other travel earn 1x. |
Miles go straight to your United MileagePlus account each billing cycle and don’t expire. United miles don’t transfer anywhere, so this card makes sense only if you’ll redeem on United or its Star Alliance partners. Chase also lets you use miles as a statement credit toward United tickets and the annual fee, which is usually a poor rate. The card also earns 1 Premier qualifying point (PQP) per $20 spent, up to 1,000 PQP a calendar year, toward United status up to 1K.
Credits and how to use them
Chase adds these up to more than $500 a year. None of them are automatic, and two only show up after heavy spending.
| Credit | Amount | How often | Where / how | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Hotels credit | $50 + $50 | Each anniversary year | First and second prepaid (“Pay Now”) stays of $50+ booked through United Hotels | Prepaid portal rates only, so compare the price with booking direct first. |
| Instacart credit | $10 a month (up to $120 a year) | Monthly, through 12/31/2027 | One order of $10+ from one retailer each month, with an active Instacart+ membership activated through Chase | Unused credit doesn’t roll over. Chase’s terms give 3 months of Instacart+ free, then it renews automatically at 25% off the $99 yearly price (about $74), so the credit is mostly a discount if you’d pay for Instacart+ anyway. |
| Rideshare credit | $5 a month (up to $60 a year) | Monthly, calendar year | Rideshare purchases with the card | You have to enroll again every year, and anything over $5 in a month is lost. |
| Avis or Budget credit | $25 + $25 in TravelBank cash | Each anniversary year | First and second rentals of 2+ days booked at mileageplustravel.united.com, paid in full with the card | Paid as United TravelBank cash, which only works on United flights and expires 12 months after it’s issued. |
| JSX credit | Up to $100 | Each anniversary year | Flights booked directly with JSX | JSX is a semi-private jet service on a limited set of routes, so most people will never use this. |
| United travel credit | $100 in TravelBank cash | Calendar year | Spend $10,000 on the card in a calendar year | Spend-gated, United flights only, and the TravelBank cash expires after 12 months. One older term on the same page describes it as a statement credit after seven United purchases of $100+ in an anniversary year, so check your own terms. |
| 10,000-mile award discount | 10,000 miles off one award | Calendar year | Spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year | Only on an award of more than 10,000 miles with at least one United segment, and it expires 12 months after it’s issued. |
| Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS | Up to $120 | Once every 4 years | Pay the application fee with the card | — |
United perks and how they work
- Free first checked bag for you and one companion on the same reservation, on United and United Express flights (not codeshares). You have to buy the ticket with the card (waived for flights in the first 90 days) and put your MileagePlus number on the reservation; Chase says that’s worth up to $200 per round trip. Authorized users only get it when they’re on your reservation.
- Two United Club one-time passes are deposited into your MileagePlus account at account opening and every 12 months after. Each pass is one visit for one person (you, an authorized user or a guest), subject to space, and each has its own expiration date. They can be removed if you close the card or switch to another United card.
- Group 2 priority boarding for you and companions on the same reservation, which in practice means boarding after Premier members and before general boarding, so you’re more likely to find overhead bin space.
- Cardmember award pricing: at least 10% fewer miles on United and United Express award flights (15% if you have Premier status), for awards booked from your own MileagePlus account. It doesn’t apply to partner flights or Money + Miles.
- Premier upgrades on award tickets: if you have United Premier status, you and one companion on the same award reservation can get complimentary Premier upgrades, which United normally reserves for paid tickets (prioritized after the lowest paid fare class).
- 25% back as a statement credit on United inflight food, drinks and Wi-Fi (including Wi-Fi subscriptions) and on premium drinks in United Clubs.
- Visa Signature Concierge, and access to United Card Events from Chase.
Insurance and protections
| Benefit | What the bank says |
|---|---|
| Auto rental collision damage waiver | Primary, up to $60,000 for theft and collision damage on most rentals with an MSRP of $125,000 or less (secondary inside the U.S. for New York residents) |
| Trip cancellation / interruption | Up to $1,500 per covered traveler and $6,000 per trip for prepaid, non-refundable fares One-way and award tickets: Yes to both: the guide’s trip definition covers round-trip or one-way fares paid all or in part with the card or with rewards earned on a Chase card, and fares paid with rewards are reimbursed in dollars. |
| Trip delay | Up to $500 per covered traveler after a delay of more than 12 hours or an overnight stay One-way and award tickets: Yes to both: one-ways count, and an award ticket counts if you charge a portion of the fare (the taxes and fees) to the card. |
| Baggage delay | Up to $100 a day for up to 3 days after a 6-hour delay One-way and award tickets: Yes to both, same rule as trip delay. |
| Lost luggage | Up to $3,000 per covered traveler (for New York residents, also limited to $2,000 per bag and $10,000 per trip) One-way and award tickets: Yes to both, same rule as trip delay. |
| Purchase protection | 120 days, up to $10,000 per item (90 days for New York residents) |
| Extended warranty | Adds one year to U.S. warranties of three years or less |
Amounts are from Chase’s card page; the one-way and award ticket rules come from Chase’s Guide to Benefits for the United Explorer and United Quest (effective 10/01/24). Claims always need receipts and the carrier’s delay confirmation.
For how this compares with other cards, see my card travel benefits comparison.
Application rules for this card
- The card isn’t available if you have it now, or if you received a new cardmember bonus on this card in the last 24 months (Chase’s offer terms, checked October 14, 2026). The rule is written per card, so holding or having had the Quest or Gateway doesn’t block the Explorer bonus.
- Chase’s 5/24 rule applies: you’ll be denied if you’ve opened 5 or more personal cards from any bank in the last 24 months.
- Chase may claw back the bonus miles if you close the account within six months.
The full rules for every bank are in my credit card application rules guide.
My take
The first year is free, and after that it’s $150 with no credit I’d call easy, so the real fee is the full $150 in my eyes. What pays for it is the bag benefit: if you and a companion check bags on even one United round trip a year, you’ve roughly covered it, and the two club passes and Group 2 boarding are a bonus on top.
The partner credits are where Chase gets to the “$500 a year” number, but the hotel credit needs prepaid portal bookings, the Instacart credit needs a paid Instacart+ membership after three months, the rideshare credit is $5 a month, and the $100 United credit needs $10,000 of spend. I would count them as zero unless you already use those services.
In any case, I personally would hate to sign up at 70,000 miles when 80,000 was available publicly in the past and higher in-flight offers are around now.
The catch
The bag benefit only works when you buy the ticket with this card and add your MileagePlus number, only for the first bag, and only on United-operated flights. If you fly carry-on only, most of the card’s value disappears.
United miles don’t transfer anywhere, and United prices its own awards dynamically, so the 10% cardmember discount is off a moving price. The TravelBank cash from the Avis and spend credits only works on United and expires after a year.
The rideshare, Instacart, JSX, hotel and Avis credits are truly bad unless you already spend in these categories. Chase, like other banks with similar types of hard-to-use credits, hopes that you forget to use these benefits.
Keep it after year one?
The fee to me is $150 minus nothing easy, which equals $150. Keep it if you check bags on United at least once or twice a year, because that alone covers the fee, and the club passes are extra. If you don’t, ask Chase to move you to the no-fee United Gateway so you keep your account history, though you lose the bags, passes and award discount (and any unused passes or TravelBank cash may be removed when you switch).
Offer history
| Offer | Ended |
|---|---|
| 80K after $3K in 3 months (best ever) | 2025-05 |
| $500 credit + 25K + 10K (AU) | 2026-08 |
Quick Answers
$0 the first year, then $150 a year as of October 2026. Authorized users are free.
As of October 14, 2026 the public offer is 70,000 miles after $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months, plus 10,000 miles for adding an authorized user in the first 3 months. In-flight and flight-attendant offers have been higher.
Yes. You and one companion on the same reservation each get a first standard checked bag free on United and United Express flights, as long as you bought the ticket with the card (waived in the first 90 days) and your MileagePlus number is on the reservation.
Two one-time passes are deposited into your MileagePlus account when you open the card and every 12 months after. Each pass gets one person into a United Club once, subject to space, and each has its own expiration date.
Chase’s terms are written per card: each card’s bonus isn’t available if you have that card or got its bonus in the last 24 months. Both cards still count toward and are subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule.
Last checked: October 14, 2026. Card terms change often, so confirm on the bank’s page before you apply. There are no affiliate or referral links on this site, ever; links go to the bank’s own page.